Authorities: California school shooting plot thwarted

Detectives with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office said that a security officer overheard a "disgruntled student" threaten a school shooting.

According to the sheriff, the teen's older brother - a 28-year-old Army veteran - claimed ownership of the weapons.

The teenager was arrested for making criminal threats while the older brother was arrested on charges including possession of an assault weapon and failure to register a handgun, McDonnell said.

One of the AR-15 rifles was registered to the older brother, but the other was unregistered, 'which in California is a felony, ' McDonnell said. Law enforcement were notified a short time later, according to the Whittier Daily News.

An attorney for the school district said the student apparently had a problem with a teacher's rule banning headphones.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell said Wednesday that a security officer at El Camino High School near Whittier overheard the teen "say that he was going to shoot up the school sometime in the next three weeks".

Deputies from the Norwalk Sheriff's Station responded to the high school, located at 14625 Keese Dr., last Friday to investigate a criminal threats call, a news release from the department stated.

The latest on what authorities say is a thwarted shooting plot by a California student.

The threat came just two days after a former student opened fire and killed 17 students and faculty at a Florida high school.

Chavez says the student said he was kidding and didn't mean it.

After hearing the alleged threat, the security officer contracted the school district, which sent a team to campus.

Sheriff's spokeswoman Nicole Nishida told the Associated Press deputies discovered "multiple guns and ammunition" after searching the student's home. "In this day and age, we have to be proactive and make that report and go from there".

Authorities did not provide further information on Tuesday, but a press conference is scheduled to be held on Wednesday.